Thursday, May 14, 2009

Denise from the blog ChezUs has posted a “gourmet” homemade version of the retro classic, Chef Boyardee SpaghettiOs, and I don’t know about you, but I can’t look at a picture of SpaghettiOs without smiling.

I don’t even remember if I was fed SpaghettiOs as a child. I’d ask my mom, but like any good Italian she would probably never admit to it. Regardless, I’ve always been fascinated by the SpaghettiO. Why hasn’t the ring caught on as a pasta shape?

You would think that the shape’s popularity as a canned foods staple would have caught on with pasta makers, homemakers, and chefs, but that hasn't been the case. Did Chef Boyardee have a gang of thugs from Piacenza, Italy, that “recommended” others not use it? Since there’s no way to know for sure, let’s assume he did.

Anyway, I applaud Denise and her fearless attempt to bring SpaghettiOs into your lives sans cans. Her recipe looks delicious, and I’m sure it will be making an appearance here in video form someday. Get the recipe, and read her post here. Enjoy!

You know, now that you've mentioned it, it really is odd that the O-shape isn't used more often! The holes in the O's are perfect for catching and holding the sauce so we should all be making O pasta more often! :0)

Actually I am from the province of Piacenza and I have to tell you that my grand mom does ring handmade pasta (the same dough that she use for ravioli or things like that) that is traditionally eaten with a meat broth, and they are absolutely delicious, one of my favorite things ever!

Hi Chef! I know this is from ages ago, but I stumbled on it and just thought I'd say Anellini (small rings) is a very traditional shape in Sicily. They're used to make pasta al forno with ragu', cheese, and ham.